Paris to Caen

Which should I do for our family of 4..drive to Caen, or bus/train there and then rent a car? I%26#39;ve heard driving out of Paris is difficult...But in checking the train schedule it appears to be ~68euro for one train ticket ( I%26#39;m not sure I%26#39;m looking at the schedules correctly, as it tells me there are no outgoing trains...so I%26#39;m confused) Any advice on using the train websites would be appreciated...or ideas for other ways to get to Caen. ( We will then be traveling to Nantes)

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I can%26#39;t say what problem(s) you may have experienced with the SNCF web site....but no one ever said that the SNCF site was %26#39;user-friendly%26#39; (with a definite tendency toward %26#39;fussy%26#39;)...but with a bit of patience and persistence---and making sure that you enter information correctly (the site isn%26#39;t as %26#39;intuitive%26#39; as it could be) you can usually get at the information you require.

There are certainly frequent daily trains traveling from PARIS-Gare Saint Lazare to CAEN. The on-line, advance-purchase PREMs fare (round-trip, 2nd Class--tickets printable on home computers)) for two(2) Adults and two(2) Youths (12-26) is 120 €uro--TOTAL. The regular FULL FARE (if you walked up to the ticket window just before departure) would be 197 €uro--TOTAL.

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Driving out of Paris is no big deal. Driving around the city is usually okay. Parking within Paris is a major drag. For four the cheapest is driving.

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You might have 10 minutes of nervous concentration on the peripherique, after that it%26#39;s all plain sailing. The roads up to Caen have all been updated recently - it%26#39;s a pleasant and easy drive.

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thanks for the info...sounds like a car is the way to go for us..especially if I can%26#39;t manage the snf website..I continue to get%26#39;There are no outbound trains after those displayed below, in the timeband that you have indicated.%26quot; no matter what I do!

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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;especially if I can%26#39;t manage the snf website..I continue to get%26#39;There are no outbound trains after those displayed below, in the timeband that you have indicated.%26quot; no matter what I do! %26lt;%26lt;%26lt;

Just tried SNCF again using hte day-after-tommorrow as the Outward Date...Starting from 7 AM and came up with a full schedule of daily trains. So...are you selecting your Dates and Times to allow for the nine(9) hour local time difference between your home computer and the SNCF computer in France??

SNCF--

www.voyages-sncf.com/dynamic/_SvHomePage…

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Hi - I%26#39;ve just bought tickets from Paris to Rouen, then Rouen to Caen on the SNCF website. You put in the time you want to depart in France - no need to make adjustments for the time differences between countries.

I did find the site a bit tricky, but if you click on the english flag at the botton of the home page, it%26#39;ll translate for you.

A suggestion - put in the departure time a few hours earlier than you wanted - you may get more choice.

It cost us about $62AUD for one-way tix from Paris to Bayeux, stop overnight in Rouen.

You can email the sncf people and ask for help - they%26#39;re very prompt with the answers.

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Thanks all,I%26#39;ve now decided to rent a car for our family of four. It suits us well since we like to stop and out-of-the-way places along the way. But after a particularly bad experience getting out of Madrid, I thought the train might be good. But now, can anyone suggest a car rental location in a small town or area outside of Paris, on the way to Caen, that is assessible by Paris metro? ( Am I being a wimp?)

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I rented a car right at CDG Aeroport via one of the international companies%26#39; websites - National - and did the drive. Be prepared: there is a heap of tolls on the highway up to Caen -- the equivalent of about USD18 each way. It%26#39;s a lot like a US east coast turnpike, if you are familiar with them -- controlled access and fees every few km. I concur exactly with Jane C%26#39;s characterization of the drive.

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I am not familiar with the east coast and assumed the tolls couldn%26#39;t be as much as the 4 of us on the train..the airport seems to be a bit far east for picking up a car..is it? Are the roads relatively clearly marked an straightforward? ( Spain was not!)

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The rental cars at CDG were cheaper, as I recall, and it wasn%26#39;t inconvenient to get to or from en route to Caen. I didn%26#39;t know at what point in your trip and geographically you intend to start. It will cost 8 euros per person to get to CDG from downtown.

You%26#39;re right that the train for four would cost more. If I were to do it again alone or as a couple, I would take the train to Caen and a tour from there, although most of the Paris locals on this board recommend the tours starting in Paris. I think they are really expensive. I believe you%26#39;ve chosen the best m.o. for four.

The roads are well marked, but take a map for the part from Caen onward. It%26#39;s actually pretty simple, but good to have the map for distances and road choices. When you get up there, and get close to the places you%26#39;ve heard so much about, and you think how long it will be before you go there again... I drove and stopped etc. until dark, then it was a long drive back.

Also, if you haven%26#39;t already planned it, a stop at the large memorial (museum) in Caen is a very good idea. It seemed like there were signs at every off-ramp leading into it. There are many exhibits, movies etc. and a store with a wealth of materials from maps to pamphlets to books to tapes and DVDs. It is definitely illuminating.

Whoops, you are just talking about Caen and Nantes. Sorry if this is way more than you wanted to know.